After having his debut in a Florida State uniform pushed back a full season due the NCAA ruling him academically ineligible to compete, redshirt freshman guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes was expected to be one of the headliners for the Seminoles in their season opener against Manhattan.

Unfortunately for Rathan-Mayes that wasn’t the case, as head coach Leonard Hamilton held him out of the 81-66 victory for an unspecified reason. According to Dustin Tackett of the Orlando Sentinel, following the game Hamilton did not elaborate on the reason why Rathan-Mayes, who was on the bench but not in uniform, didn’t play Saturday but the guard will be available Tuesday night when the Seminoles host Northeastern.

With Rathan-Mayes sidelined other underclassmen stepped forward for Florida State, which struggled early against the Jaspers but turned things around late in the first half. Two of the players providing that needed spark were freshmen Phil Cofer and Robbie Berwick, with Cofer finishing the game with four points and six rebounds and Berwick tallying 11 points himself.

In total six Florida State players scored between 11 and 14 points (Aaron Thomas led the way with 14), and as the game wore on the Seminoles’ length and athleticism slowed down a Manhattan offense that produced six first-half three pointers. Steve Masiello’s Jaspers finished the game shooting 28.6% from the field, and they made just 25 percent (7-for-28) of their two-point field goal attempts.

The game wasn’t the smoothest, with their being a combined 42 turnovers (21 apiece) and 80 free throw attempts, but Florida State used its size and athleticism to turn things around after a slow start. Rathan-Mayes will give Florida State another offensive weapon moving forward, and if Saturday’s win is any indication of what’s to come the Seminoles will once again be formidable defensively.

We’re entering a new era in the ACC, as Louisville enters the conference while Maryland exits to the Big Ten. Some old rivalries will die as a result — the Duke-Maryland rivalry in the early-2000s was as good as it gets — but the ACC is now the best conference in the country. The top four teams in the conference are all good enough to make a Final Four and win the ACC regular season title. There are at least six more teams that will have a chance to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. It’s going to be a fun league to watch play out.

REALIGNMENT MOVES

In: LouisvilleOut: Maryland

FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

1. The top four in the ACC is clear-cut: Duke, North Carolina, Louisville and Virginia. Those are the four best teams in the ACC, and there really isn’t a debate to be had there. All four are ranked in the top ten of the NBCSports.com preseason poll, and all four are legitimate national title contenders. What order those four should be ranked is something we are all going to disagree on, but the bottom-line is this: no one else in the conference can even be called a consensus top 25 team. That said …

2. … the race for fifth place will be just as contested: There may not be another consensus top 25 team in the conference, but there are six teams in the league that could end up being ranked at some point during the season and earning themselves an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. All six could also end up missing the NCAA tournament. We have Notre Dame fifth and Miami tenth in our preseason poll. You could flip-flop them and I wouldn’t argue all that much. The middle of the league is going to be a mess.

3. The offseason talking points had more to do with students than athletes: Despite the fact that the ACC is home to four top ten teams, four players that made at least one appearance as a preseason first-team all-american and four hall of fame head coaches, the stories that dominated the headlines this offseason were all bad. Syracuse is staring down the barrel of an NCAA investigation into academic improprieties, improper benefits, failed drug tests and who knows what else. But those issues paled in comparison to what North Carolina dealt with this fall, as a damaging independent investigation into the academic fraud in the athletic department — the Wainstein Report — legitimized the questions surrounding Roy Williams’ program. It’s bad enough that there’s a real chance the 2005 national title could end up being vacated.

4. It’s been two years since a blueblood won an ACC title: For all the talk of the ACC’s bluebloods — Duke and North Carolina — and the storied programs the league swiped from the Big East — Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville — it’s mildly surprising that it has been a full two years since anyone of those programs have won an ACC regular season or tournament title. In 2014, Virginia won dual ACC titles. In 2013, Miami did the same.

Marcus Paige and Malcolm Brogdon (AP Photo)

5. Best point guard play in the country: You like watching elite ball-handlers? You’ll love the ACC this season. North Carolina’s Marcus Paige and Louisville’s Terry Rozier are going to get the majority of the attention, but that’s just the beginning of it. Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant is talented enough to put together an all-american caliber campaign. Miami’s Angel Rodriguez was an all-Big 12 point guard before transferring out of Kansas State. Duke’s Tyus Jones is the nation’s best freshman point guard. Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Codi Miller-McIntyre (Wake Forest), Xavier Rathan-Mayes (Florida State), Cat Barber (N.C. State). There are going to be some really good point guards that don’t sniff the all-ACC team.

PRESEASON ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jahlil Okafor, Duke

Jahlil Okafor is my pick to be the National Player of the Year this season, so it would only make sense that he is the Preseason ACC Player of the Year as well. I expect Okafor to have an impact as a freshman similar to that of Jabari Parker last season, as the 6-foot-11 center will be the most-skilled low-post player in the country.

THE REST OF THE ALL-ACC FIRST TEAM:

Marcus Paige, North Carolina, Jr.: Paige was dominant at times as a sophomore, as he learned how to playthe role of facilitator until he needed to take over.

Montrezl Harrell, Louisville, Jr.: Louisville caught a bit of a break when Harrell made the decision to return to school for his junior season. We know about his work in the paint, but he’s hitting threes now as well.

Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia, Jr.: Brogdon is one of the most underrated players in the country. He’s not flashy and won’t post huge numbers, but he’s consistent and the key for Virginia offensively.

Jerian Grant, Notre Dame, Sr.: Grant was having an all-american caliber season when he was suspended from school for the second semester. Expect him to pick up where he left off.

FIVE MORE NAMES TO KNOW:

Terry Rozier, Louisville, So.

Angel Rodriguez, Miami, Jr.

Olivier Hanlan, Boston College, Jr.

Aaron Thomas, Florida State, Jr.

Tyus Jones, Duke, Fr.

BREAKOUT STAR: Terry Rozier had a handful of impressive performances as a freshman, but consistent minutes were tough for him to come by. Part of that was the result of playing the same position as all-american Russ Smith. But it wasn’t a secret that Rozier was the best pro prospect on Louisville’s roster last season, and using the 6-foot-2 combo-guard in a reserve role helped ensure that Rozier would be back for another season.

Roy Williams and Jim Boeheim (Getty Images)

COACH UNDER PRESSURE: Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory is the obvious pick here, but it’s also the boring one. We know that the Yellow Jackets have not been good during his tenure, and when you’re the coach at an ACC school that isn’t winning, you’re job will be in jeopardy. What’s more interesting is the status of hall of famers Jim Boeheim and Roy Williams. Syracuse is currently dealing with an NCAA investigation into issues with academics and improper benefits while North Carolina is undergoing intense scrutiny regarding their use of “paper classes” and just how much of the cheating Williams was aware of.

Are they in danger of losing their jobs? Not unless they want to retire. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a pair of coaches in any league facing more pressure entering the season than those two.

ON SELECTION SUNDAY WE’LL BE SAYING … : The ACC might get four teams into the Final Four, but will anyone else win a game?

I’M MOST EXCITED ABOUT : Watching the top four teams in this league battle it out for a regular season title. The race for ACC Player of the Year will be fun as well.

1. Duke: I have my doubts about Duke, but the Blue Devils have the single-toughest matchup in the ACC in Jahlil Okafor roaming the paint and a ton of perimeter depth to surround him.
2. North Carolina: Picking the Tar Heels here means two things: Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks both lived up to their potential, and Justin Jackson played like the McDonald’s All-American he is.
3. Virginia: The ‘Hoos don’t look menacing on paper, but they return the majority of their roster from a team that won a dual-ACC title last season.
4. Louisville: Love Rozier and Harrell, but there are some real question marks elsewhere on the roster. That said, a fourth-place finish in the ACC could still yield a top three seed.
5. Notre Dame: Jerian Grant — and, to a lesser extent, Patrick Connaughton — good enough to get Notre Dame to .500 on his own. The Irish will be a tournament team if Zach Auguste, Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia improve.
6. Syracuse: The Orange are loaded with athletes, especially in their front court. But the inconsistent Trevor Cooney is the only proven scorer and Kaleb Joseph is the only point guard. I could see the Orange missing the tournament.
7. N.C. State: Cat Barber, Ralston Turner and Trevor Lacey is a talented back court, BeeJay Anya has shed a bunch of weight and Abdul-Malik Abu could end up being an all-freshmen team player.
8. Pitt: Getting Durand Johnson back healthy is key, as is the return of Cameron Wright and James Robinson. How good will Sheldon Jeter and Michael Young be up front?
9. Florida State: Aaron Thomas is one of the most underrated players in the league and the addition of Xavier Rathan-Mayes should be key. If they address their turnover and defensive rebounding issues, a top five finish is feasible.
10. Miami: The quartet of Angel Rodriguez, Sheldon McClellan, Deandre Burnett and JaQuan Newton gives the Canes a talented perimeter. But what about their front line?
11. Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons have had made a habit of picking off elite opponents at home, but they’ll need to shore up their defense and get help for Codi Miller-McIntyre and Devin Thomas to finish in the top half of the league in Danny Manning’s first year.
12. Georgia Tech: Point guard play is still an issue, but DeMarco Cox and Charles Mitchell are both eligible up front while Marcus Georges-Hunt is underrated on the wing.
13. Clemson: The Tigers were a top 20 defensive team last season, and while they return a number of veterans, they lose K.J. McDaniels, their best defender and leading scorer.
14. Virginia Tech: The future looks bright in Blacksburg with Buzz Williams coming to town, but it’s going to take some time for him to get enough talent into the program to compete near the top of the ACC.
15. Boston College: The Eagles bring back Olivier Hanlan, but they lose Ryan Anderson, among others, and look destined for the ACC cellar.

Florida State got some disastrous news on Monday when Leonard Hamilton announced that the star of his 2013 recruiting class, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, would be ineligible to play during the 2013-2014 season.

Rathan-Mayes failed to make it through the NCAA’s Eligibility Center as they refused to accept a year of credits that he took at a high school in North Carolina, according to a report. He spent a season at Christian Faith Center Academy, which was run by Ro Russell. You can watch the 45 minute report from Fifth Estate, a show similar to 60 Minutes in Canada, on Russell and Christian Faith Center Academy here. Kevin Thomas (Texas) and Braeden Anderson (Kansas) were also ruled ineligible as a result of their time at Russell’s school.

Rathan-Mayes was the No. 30 recruit in the country, per Rivals, but he was probably best known as Andrew Wiggins’ friend and high school teammate at Huntington Prep. One of the reasons that Wiggins had Florida State in his final four teams was that Rathan-Mayes decided to go to school there. Wiggins spent a few months at Christian Faith Center Academy, but it was as an eighth-grader. He’s already been cleared.

Losing Rathan-Mayes is a massive blow to the Seminoles, who are looking to rebuild after losing Michael Snaer and missing out on the NCAA tournament last season. Ian Miller and Devon Bookert are both back, as is Okaro White and Montay Brandon, but that just means that this is basically the same Florida State team as last season minus an all-league player.

Last season at Huntington Prep, he averaged 14.6 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game.

The Seminoles were a leader for Rathan-Mayes for much of his recruitment, especially considering the fact that his father, Tharon Mayes, played for Florida State from 1987-90.

Rathan-Mayes is also good friends with perhaps the nation’s best overall prospect, Wiggins, who is also considering Florida State, so it is to be seen whether Rathan-Mayes’ decision has anything to do with Wiggins’ future college decision.

Rathan-Mayes becomes the first commit from the Class of 2013 for coach Leonard Hamilton and the Seminoles.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.—It’s difficult to say that this July live recruiting period has been more centrally focused on anyone other than Canadian phenom and No. 1 2014 prospect Andrew Wiggins.

Wiggins not only enjoyed personal success, distinguishing himself as perhaps the best high school player in the country, regardless of class, but also carried his CIA Bounce to the finals at Nike Peach Jam in South Carolina this month.

But behind the long shadow cast by Wiggins are two other prospects, Tyler Ennis and Xavier Rathan-Mays, who have prominent high-major recruitments of their own and are as integral to the success of CIA Bounce’s success as the standout, Wiggins.

“Well, you know, Tyler and I always talk about this is the dream we’ve had since we were young,” Rathan-Mayes told NBCSports.com at the Live in AC tournament. “To have Coach Self and all the big-time coaches calling our phones for our services, we’re just embracing it and taking it day by day.“

Wiggins was not in attendance for Live in AC, giving Ennis and Rathan-Mayes a larger share of the spotlight for the week.

He plays at Huntington Prep (W.V.) alongside Wiggins and has a unique perspective on the team dynamic that exists between himself, Ennis, and the No. 1 overall prospect in the country.

“I’ve know Andrew since I was about two years old and we’ve grown up playing together,” said Rathan-Mayes. “Playing with him, it makes things easier because you have to send double teams at him and it opens up free shots for me and Tyler.”

Listed at 205 pounds, Rathan-Mays uses his body well, often backing down guards from the perimeter and creating space to get an open shot. On one sequence at Live in AC, he hit a fallaway jumper from the baseline off a crossover, then came down on the next possession and hit an identical shot with a defender’s hand in his face.

Rathan-Mayes works as a complement to the savvy, poised Ennis, who is a Top 25 player in the class and the point guard of this talented CIA Bounce team. Ennis, much like Rathan-Mayes, feels the media spotlight that comes with playing alongside Wiggins, but maintains an impressively mature approach.

“Playing with Andrew, you’re going to get a lot of coaches coming out, scouts, fans, so you have to do what you do,” Ennis told NBCSports.com. “You can’t force it. You just have to get the ball when you’re hot and that’s easier playing with Andrew.”

In Atlantic City, Ennis showed his ability to play under control at all times, whether working to break a press, attack the basket, or distribute and find his teammates. He is so calm, those who have seen him for the first time might mischaracterize it as apathy, until he makes a great pass or acrobatic shot around the rim.

After one assist in traffic during Live in AC, one Division I coach told NBCSports.com, “Give him a suitcase, I’ll take him back with me right now and let him start for my team.”